Records Show Officer Drew Complaints

Actions Within Boca Policy

He Helped Arrest Chief's Friend

October 15, 2005|By Luis F. Perez Staff Writer

One of the Boca Raton police officers involved in the arrest of a wealthy developer three weeks ago that touched off a firestorm around Chief Andrew Scott has a history of using force with suspects, city records show.

Departmental reviews of 16 incidents in which Officer Eric Van Hof used force and three citizens' complaints filed against him since he was hired in February 2000 found they were all within agency policy. Internal Affairs also found two excessive-force accusations against Van Hof unfounded or unsubstantiated. However, department officials suspended him from the SWAT team for 90 days after an August 2002 internal investigation found he took keys to a city lifeguard tower to use on a date.

Experts reached Friday were divided about whether the numbers of times Van Hof has used force in slightly more than five years as a Boca Raton officer is an indicator of an overly aggressive police officer. Van Hof's Sept. 23 takedown of Greg Talbott, a contributor to police charities and acquaintance of Scott, outside the Luna Pazza restaurant is at the center of police brutality accusations being investigated by Internal Affairs.

"It would seem to me that the numbers alone are excessive," said Ken Harms, a former Miami police chief who is now an expert witness in police-related lawsuits.

However, each case has to be looked at individually, he said.

Talbott's arrest and Scott's involvement in it have led the police union to push for Scott's ouster, including a lopsided no-confidence vote Wednesday. Of the 155 officers casting ballots, 152 indicated they lost faith in Scott's ability to lead.

Van Hof could not be reached Friday despite attempts by phone and through a police spokesman, who said he was off duty.

Van Hof was the first officer to arrive as backup to Officer Dean Coviello in a disturbance with Talbott at Luna Pazza, according to police reports. He helped subdue Talbott using a front leg sweep that took the Boca Raton developer to the pavement when he resisted officers' attempts to handcuff him, the reports said.

Robert Sweetapple, Talbott's attorney, disputes the police reports and said they didn't document Talbott's multiple injuries. He also pointed out that the reports state Talbott stood still when a Taser was pointed at him, suggesting that was an opportunity for handcuffing without injury.

"This goes beyond the violent attack of Mr. Talbott," he said. "It goes to the integrity of the entire arrest."

Coviello's personnel files show outstanding and above satisfactory reviews and numerous commendations since he was hired in Oct. 18, 1999. He couldn't be reached by phone at the station and attempts to contact him at home were unsuccessful.

Van Hof also had outstanding and above satisfactory reviews and many commendations until his most recent review on Feb. 26. He came three points shy of an unsatisfactory rating.

Supervisors last year counseled Van Hof several times about turning in reports late. He was given a letter of reprimand for showing up late to work too many times. And supervisors confronted him about his changed attitude toward the department. In one instant, they questioned Van Hof about how a suspect got cuts to his face.

"Officer Van Hof stood up in an aggressive manner and demonstrated knee kicks stating that the injuries must have been the result of his `nineteen knee strikes' to the defendant," Acting Capt. Steve Brancazio wrote in a Jan. 18 memo to James Burke, assistant chief of police.

That prompted concern among supervisors since it was known that knee strikes were not used. After that, Van Hof was taken off the road.

He also was relieved of his duty on the SWAT team based on "events both on and off duty," his most recent review shows. It also showed he used force in seven cases from Jan 31, 2004 to Jan. 31, 2005.

Reports showed Van Hof used force that ranged from hand maneuvers while handcuffing suspects to takedowns like the one used in the Talbott case to using his Taser stun device. Often, other officers were involved in trying to make an arrest.

William Bopp, founder of the Florida Atlantic University criminology department and professor emeritus, said the number of times Van Hof has used force in and of itself doesn't mean anything. In law enforcement, departments generally have policies that trigger a review of an officer after a certain number of times force is used, Bopp said.

Also, counseling is recommended when an officer's performance drops. And that seems to have happened in this case, said Bopp, also an expert witness in police procedure and security cases.

"In this case, I don't see anything in the file that he's overly aggressive," Bopp said.

Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641.